CH 23

“Ei~!”

“That’s it! That’s perfect!”

“Kas, Kasdar-sama~!!!”

QOTD's Thursday Big Show: June ...

Kasdar and Vivian were practicing the activation of saint abilities against a rabbit-like demon beast in a forest surrounding the Demon King’s castle, near a carriage stop that was particularly safe.

It was a relatively easy practice to activate the saint ability to confine the rabbit-like demon beast in a barrier.

Since the Demon King’s castle conquest was not going well, Lala finally suggested training Vivian from scratch.

“You’re saying something good for once, Lala.”

Kasdar seemed enthusiastic about it, so there was some hope, but in the end, Kasdar and Vivian started playing and fooling around during breaks, and only practiced for a few minutes at a time. It was a repeating cycle.

Even when Lala tried to give them lessons,

“I won’t leave it to a rough woman like you.”

She was rejected, which was a problem.

Lala and Synovidos sat on a tree stump and watched the two of them absentmindedly. They were told not to interfere, so there was nothing they could do.

“How meaningless.”

“Indeed, it is meaningless.”

There was nothing to enjoy except for chasing butterflies with their eyes.

The sun rose high in the sky, and adventurers who had been hunting nearby began to spread out their lunch boxes with a smile.

A delicious smell wafted through the air, stimulating Lala’s nose involuntarily.

“It’s delicious again today! There’s a croquette stuffed with gratin sandwiched between bread!”

“This is a hamburger made with mixed ground meat! I don’t understand why there’s pasta underneath, but it’s also sweet and delicious!”

“Saints-san said that the pasta is there to absorb the excess moisture from the hamburger! That’s why it’s still delicious even when it’s cold, and the meat juice doesn’t go to waste!”

“I see! Saints-san is amazing!”

“It’s delicious!!”

Gyuuuuu.

“Lala-dono, are you hungry?”

“I’m fine! I’m on a diet, so leave me alone!”

“I don’t think Lala-dono is gaining weight, though. Well then, I’ll have lunch without hesitation.”

Synovidos opened a scarf with strange swirling patterns on a green field and took out a bento box from it.

The moment Lala looked inside, she swallowed a scream.

“. . .What is this, an amazing bento box.”

“Hiira-dono made this bento box. She gave it to me this morning.”

“Hiira made it?! Why would she make something like that, and why would you take it?”

“She has a cafeteria near the carriage stop. I received it there.”

“. . .So that cafeteria was Hiira’s shop after all.”

“There aren’t many brave saints who open diners on the side of the Demon King’s Forest, except for Hiira-dono.”

“That girl is fearless.”

Lala muttered as she looked at Synovidos’ bento box.

Between the crispy bread, a hamburger was tightly crushed. The exquisite flavor of the meat juice and sauce soaked into the inside of the bread, and the fresh leafy vegetables were so dazzling that you could imagine the texture just by looking at them. The fragrant and crispy smell was so strong that it didn’t seem like a cold sandwich, and the crispy bacon and sunny-side-up egg on top of the potato salad in the same package looked delicious too.

“Would you like to eat?”

“Eek!! No, I don’t want to take someone else’s food!”

Lala turned away, swallowing the saliva overflowing in her mouth.

“Are you really sure?”

“You’re so persistent!!”

“Well then, I’ll help myself.”

Chomp. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Chomp, munch, munch. . .

Gruuu.

“Lala-dono.”

“I-I said it’s fine. . .and you’re eating it already!”

“No, not this.”

Synovidos took out a paper bag that was about one size smaller than his lunch box and handed it to Lala.

“I was entrusted with this by Hiira-dono. If Lala-dono is interested in the lunch box, please pass it on quietly.”

“Eh. . .”

When she timidly peeked inside, she found a rolled-up vegetable and fish fry sandwich made with thinly baked dough-like paper.

“. . .Is this a salad crepe. . .or something?”

“It seems to be seasoned only with herb salt, so Lala-dono might be able to eat it without worrying about her diet.”

“Well, I guess there’s no helping it. If that child says it’s for my sake. . .”

Lala took out a salad crepe from the paper bag and gently put it in her mouth.

Crunch.

The texture of the fresh vegetables with different levels of crunchiness. The crispy white fish was a perfect accent, making it satisfying to eat even with a light taste.

“. . .It’s delicious. . .”